Playing violent computer games 'can improve vision'

Playing violent computer games can improve your vision, according to a study.

Research suggests that violent games such as Call of Duty could improve vision

By Kate Devlin, Medical Correspondent

6:01PM BST 29 Mar 2009

Scientists found that an important aspect of eyesight functioned better in people who played fighting games on their PCs.

The breakthrough is significant because it was previously thought that the ability to notice even very small changes in shades of grey against a uniform background, called the contrast sensitivity function (CSF), could not be improved.

CSF is important because it aids eyesight in certain conditions, including driving at night or when there is poor visibility on the roads.

The ability is often affected by ageing and by conditions such as such as amblyopia, also known as 'lazy eye'.

Previously doctors believed that the only ways sufferers could ease symptoms were to wear glasses or contact lenses, or to undergo corrective surgery.

Then team behind the study, from Rochester University in New York and Goldschleger Eye Research Institute and Tel Aviv University believe their new findings shows that CSF is affected not only by deterioration in the eye itself, but also in the signals coming from the brain.

The study compared the reactions of a group of seasoned gamers and a group of the same age who did not play computer games often.

They also conducted an experiment where a small sample of non-gamers were asked to play intensively for 50 hours over nine weeks.

The volunteers played either a fighting game, Unreal Tournament 2004, or a shoot-em-up, Call of Duty 2, and the results were compared with another group who played more sedate games for the same time.

Those playing action games saw their ability to discern contrast improve by between 43 and 58 per cent, a rise not mirrored in the other group, according to the findings, reported in the journal Nature Neuroscience.